Ixodes persulcatus, the taiga

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

 tick, is a species of hard-bodied tick

Ixodidae

Ixodidae is a family of ticks containing the hard ticks.-Description:They are distinguished from the other main family of ticks, the soft ticks by the presence of a scutum or hard shield...

 distributed throughout eastern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 to the People’s Republic of China and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...

 of the species is marked, the male being much smaller than the female. Hosts include wild and domestic ungulates, man, dog, rabbit, and other small mammals including the dormouse

Dormouse

Dormice are rodents of the family Gliridae. Dormice are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia. They are particularly known for their long periods of hibernation...

, Amur hedgehog

Amur Hedgehog

The Amur Hedgehog is a hedgehog similar to the West European Hedgehog in outlook and lifestyle, although it is more lightly coloured. An average animal weighs from 600 to 1000 grams. Native to Amur Krai and Primorye in Russia, Manchuria in China and the Korean peninsula....

, and occasionally birds.

Disease transmission

I. persulcatus ticks transmit Lyme disease

Lyme disease

Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...

, babesiosis

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with Babesia, a genus of protozoal piroplasms. After trypanosomes, Babesia are thought to be the second most common blood parasites of mammals and they can have a major impact on health of domestic animals in areas without severe...

, and Siberian (TBEV-Sib) and Far Eastern (TBEV-FE) tick-borne encephalitis. A recent study of the northernmost tick-borne encephalitis focus in Simo

Simo, Finland

Simo is a municipality located in the province of Lapland, Finland, about from the Swedish border.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . In 2001, Simo's debt per capita was 946.39 Euros....

, Finnish Lapland

Lapland

Sápmi is the name of the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people. Sápmi is located in Northern Europe and includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia. The region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Sápmi is the name in North Sámi, while the Julev...

, found I. persulcatus ticks in scattered foci along the western coast, including the Kokkola

Kokkola

Kokkola is a town and municipality of Finland.The town is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...

 archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 and Närpiö municipality, demonstrating a northward movement of foci and an unusual combination of the TBEV-Eur strain and I. persulcatus ticks in an area with no evidence of cocirculation of tick species or TBEV subtypes.